Another leaking outdrive question

1992 FourWinns with 4.3 Cobra. Pulled drain plug on drive and oil is yellow milky. Had a vacuum tester along. It leaked down from 6 inches in 12 minutes. I am going to replace the drain plug washers and try again. Didnt have a pressure tester available. Pulled prop and no fishing line was found but I could feel a slight amount of vertical/horizontal play. It was very slight but should I feel any?
I am rigging a pressure tester and next time to the lake will look for leaks. It looks like drain plugs or prop shaft are common problems. Did research on pulling the bearing housing. Is it as simple as removing the four screws and using a puller to get it out???? You don't have to split the cases??
Thanks for your time.

What manual you using ? None huh ?

You have a pm

I have a Clymer manual that lists the entire disassembly process, but you often don't need to take everything apart to get to a specific part. I realize it is not as good as the factory ones. I did a lot of research on this sight prior to asking the question and ran across one response that said you just unbolt the bearing carrier but others have said you need to pull the drives apart and remove lots of other pieces to get to them. Just trying to ascertain how big a job I may be taking on.

You have a pm clymer is good for kneeling on.

I had a leaking drive as well. Finally found the cause. Pressured it and sprayed soap solution everywhere and saw bubbles around the water pump shaft. Bearing and seal were gone and shaft was scored. Wish I had found it earlier but the drive always pressure and vacuum tested good when on the stand.

Thanks.
I have heard the water pump shaft is another common leak along with u-joint bellows. When I pressure test the unit I will remember to look at the water pump. Did you do the repair yourself, and was it difficult?

When you have pressure in the drive turn the driveshaft by hand as you spray the soap solution on. I took my drive to a shop to have it repaired. I had the whole thing disassembled,inspected, and resealed.I guess you need several "special OMC tools" to do this.

Finally got back to the boat. Pressured it to 15lbs, had a steady stream of bubbles from the o-ring around the propeller carrier bearing housing and a slight leak around dipstick. Nothing from the propeller shaft seals or water pump shaft seals or filler/drain plugs. Fixed the dipstick problem and gave the carrier housing bolts an extra 1/4 turn tight. They were surprisingly loose, and those bubbles have stopped too. I am going to pull the housing and replace the seals and o-rings when I get the parts. Problem remains that it still leaks down from 15lbs in about an hour. I traced some leaks to my homemade pressure tester and am not entirely sure I have them all fixed. That is my next step. If my tester proves air tight, what are the next places to look? I haven't removed the drive yet, but I could lay it down in a kiddie pool of water and look for bubbles?
Thanks

the drain holes.

The plastic washers you need a new one every time you pull a plug home cheapo got them for 1 dollar a bag of 10.

Think I found all the leaks, replaced the dipstick o-ring and re-torqued the bearing carrier bolts and it now held 15lbs for 24 hours. My home made tester was the source of the other slow leaks. I ordered new propeller shaft bearings/seals and o-ring thru this site and will freshen up the carrier when they arrive. Hope the carrier comes out smoothly.
Thanks for all your help